Drake's Fangs

From Gameresource

Current revision as of 23:23, 2 May 2008

This is a Soul of Gaia, submitted for playing in The Pulse of Creation.

Due to editthis being balls-out crappy, the updated version can always be found at http://zweiwiki.wiki-site.com/index.php/Drakes_Fangs

[edit] Backstory

"Child, the city is your mother now." Those were the words he had dreaded hearing, that all possible options had been exhausted. He had seen other children be taken to serve in the Legion, and he knew that we would eventually be required to serve even if he were adopted. But he had truly hoped that someone would take him in, even if he had to endure some of the stories that other kids told of cruel adoptive parents.

But after years passed without him so much as receiving a passing interest from a family, he was drafted into the military. He learned how to march, and how to fight, and how to love his new life. He assuaged his sense of longing with thoughts of protecting his "adoptive parent". Even when others would give up, this thought was a spark of hope that ignited his passion for serving his home.

This passion was something that many expected to result in his exaltation as a child of the dragons, but that time passed. But a near rout by barbarian forces brought that passion to a boil, resulting in a wholly different transformation. Not into a being of elemental fury, but of animalistic rage. The barbarians stood little chance against a newly exalted Lunar defending his home, but he still felt as though he had lost. He knew what happened to Anathema that were located; now, no matter what he did his own home would reject him.

The few barbarians that escaped spread word of a new moonlit god of carnage, and he was captured (not without a decent fight) and taken to the Pact. After some convincing, he learned more of the Lunar Exalted and their task of stewardship. Since it seemed to mirror the intentions in his previous life, and that said life was now pretty much inaccessible to him now, he fell into the world of the Silver Pact. Taking the name he now uses with his tattoos, he spent most of his time watching the movements of, and "testing" the strength of, his former "family".

However, his mind felt worn. During his youth, he had envisioned the city of Lookshy itself as a kind of mother, his service a kind of love. But the army life was hard, and seemed to lack something. As a Lunar, the city of Lookshy would reject him, and it was as though he were orphaned a second time. His initiation in the Pact filled his mind with new experiences and skills, but after the initial rush Drake's thoughts wandered back to those of his "parents". He felt that Luna was now his adoptive mother, but little seemed to have changed. While his deeds went far beyond that of his mortal self, his life lacked something that he couldn't put his finger on.

This hole in his soul twinged when he first met one of the Souls of Gaia. Even before he talked to them, they seemed to be aware of something that had completely escaped him. Spending more time with one, he found out more about them, and about Gaia. The way they spoke, it was as if they had the very thing that he was missing. It wasn't long before Drake managed to pry the information on how to become one with Gaia from a Soul, and set off to try to contact Her himself. Just to see what it was that he was missing...

As Fate would have it, a trio of Abyssal Exalted were also visiting the now-ruined temple, in an attempt to gain some secrets to use in tainting the land. Drake attempted to stop them, but didn't anticipate the horrific power they possessed. The one in armor darker than night ripped his heart from his tattooed chest, and tossed the organ into a nearby brazier. Unable to gain anything else from the area, the dead ones left, gloating about how easily conquering the River Province would be if "that" was the best it could muster of its protectors.

These words echoed in Drake's fading mind. Using what little of his strength he had left, he crawled towards the altar, and called out to the heart of the world, to Gaia. His previous intentions were gone; instead was the burning need to protect this land from what he had faced. As the sight began to fade from his eyes, he felt a disembodied warmth as someone gathered the embers of his heart, and a shock as the coals were thrust back into his chest. As the Essence surged through his body, granting him a new life and strength, he saw the face of the Mother of All.

In that instant he felt the entirety of the warmth of her love, a love that was pure and unfaltering. He knew what he had missed, and he now had it. And was going to make sure that nothing would happen to his new mother. After leaving the place of his rebirth, he shifted his attentions towards fighting the threats of the Dead Princes, as well as making sure that the Seventh Legion could withstand a battle with their forces.

[edit] Info

Name: Drake's Fangs
Caste: Full Moon
Totem: Southern Ember
Tell: Fangs; silver scales across his shoulders and back
Elemental Aspect: Fire
Elemental Markings: Smoke can occasionally be seen puffing out of his mouth; skin glows with inner fire, and eyes and mouth glow like embers in the dark
Motivation: To ensure that the protectors of the River Province are as strong as needed
Intimacies: Protection of Creation, reverence of Gaia and Luna, Lookshy's potential

Age: 32
Height: 6' 1"
Hair: Dark Red
Eyes: Orange

Description: Drake wears typical clothes of a traveler that allow him to move freely. His Belt of Exalted Prowess is constantly worn, typically in belt form. His draconic warform is far fiercer than his human face, and his hair in this shape typically burns with the white of his anima, flowing wildly.

[edit] Attributes

 (C) Strength  •••••  Charisma     •••    Perception   •••   

 (C) Dexterity •••••  Manipulation ••     Intelligence •••   

 (C) Stamina   •••••  Appearance   ••     (F) Wits     ••••  

[edit] Abilities

 War                    Life                Wisdom
 Archery                 Craft               Bureaucracy         

 Athletics        ••     Larceny             Investigation       

 Awareness        •••    Linguistics  •      Lore          •    

 Dodge            •••    Performance         Medicine            

 Integrity        ••     Presence     ••     Occult              

 (F) Martial Arts •••••  Ride                

 Melee            ••     Sail                

 Resistance       •      Socialize           Specialties  

 Thrown                  Stealth             MA (Unarmed)  ••   

 War              ••     (F) Survival •••    

[edit] Advantages

Backgrounds
Inheritance •••••
Patron •••••
Artifact ••••
Artifact •••
Tattoo Artifact •
Manse •••
Resources •••
Mentor ••
Ally •
Ally •
Heart's Blood ••
Backing(Blades of Sacred Life) •
Backing(Silver Pact) •
Contact •
Contact •

Virtues
Compassion •••
Conviction ••••
Valor •••••
Temperance ••

Willpower

 (•) (•) (•) (•) (•) (•) (•) (•) (•) ( )  

 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]  

Health Levels

  0  [ ]   

 -1  [ ][ ]   

 -2  [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]  

 -4  [ ]   

 Inc [ ]   

Essence
Permanent 4
Personal 22 (22)
Peripheral 54 (37)
Committed 17

Limit

 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]  

Great Curse
Curse of the Lone Wolf

[edit] Charms

Second Strength Excellency

First Dexterity Excellency
Golden Tiger Stance (page 151)

Second Stamina Excellency
Ox-Body Technique (Four -2 Levels) (page 156)

Foot-Trapping Counter (page 194)
Rabid Beast Attitude (page 194)
Thousand Claw Infliction (page 194)
Lunar Hero Form (pages 194-195)

[edit] Knacks

Towering Beast Form (page 131)
Deadly Beastman Transformation (page 136)
-Claws, Thick Skin, Prehensile Tail, Inexhaustible

[edit] Combos

Strike! Raging Outbreak!
Charms: First Dexterity Excellency + Golden Tiger Stance + Second Strength Excellency + Thousand Claw Infliction
Cost: 1 WP + 1m per Dexterity die + 2m + 2m per Strength success + 1m
Description: Drake's anima bursts into massive white flames, leaving illusionary trails along the ground and enveloping the area around himself and his hapless foe. Blows rain from all directions, sometimes with the same fist or foot hitting more than once at a time. Attacks are dodged or parried as though he had done nothing else.

[edit] Merits and Flaws

Rival •• - Rival Lunar, trained by the same mentor. Coming from a barbarian heritage and believes that a non-barbarian Lunar isn't worth the shard.
Enemy ••• - Several Lookshy officers that are tasked with hunting down the Fiery Maned Menace. An Air Aspect sorcerer-engineer with access to a plethora of magitech, a Wood Immaculate assisting with the trek through the wilderness to find and defeat him, and a Water Aspected Terrestrial Martial Artist who doubles as a detective.

[edit] Backgrounds

Moonsilver Perfected Kata Bracers
Cost: •••
Attune: 8
Effects: When activating a Form charm, the wearer replaces the accuracy, damage, and defense bonuses to +Permanent Essence. In addition, the wearer ignores cover and shields when making attacks.

Moonsilver Belt of Exalted Prowess
Cost: ••••
Attune: 8
Tags: None
Description: This artifact takes the shape of a wide belt of thick leather set with an ornate buckle and studs made of one of the magical materials. While worn in this form it grants the wearer +6B/+6L soak, 2B/2L hardness and has -0 mobility and 0 fatigue. It always gains the respective MM bonus of its construction. As a reflexive action the wearer may spend 2m and activate the belt to transform into a magnificent suit of Articulated Plate, which is statistically identical to that of a normal artifact suit of articulated plate. While in belt form, each artifact grants the wearer specific bonuses based on its magical material:

• Orichalcum: +3 bonus to Strength or Presence rolls
  
• Moonsilver: +3 bonus to Manipulation or Athletics rolls
  
• Jade: +3 bonus to Stamina or Integrity rolls
  
• Starmetal: +3 bonus to Perception or Performance rolls
  
• Soulsteel: +3 bonus to Appearance or Ride rolls
  

Tattooed Hearthstone Amulet
Cost: •
Attune: 1
Description: This spiral shaped section of moonsilver tattoo is capable of holding a hearthstone, and confers the same benefits of a hearthstone amulet. In this case, the tattoo is located in the middle of the chest, near the chakra point.

Orb of the Unnoticed Predator
Cost: Manse •••
Element: Lunar
Effect: This flattened sphere is patterned in several gray stripes. The stone prevents its bearer from leaving tracks, even in thick mud or fine dust, and eliminates all traces of her scent and the scent of anything she wears or carries. These benefits also extend to any animal she rides and to anyone she carries, but do not extend to any companions moving on their own. If the bearer moves in a slow and stealthy fashion, the stone also mutes any noises she makes and bends shadows to her advantage, increasing the difficulty of all Awareness rolls to notice her presence by 1.

The Crescent Domain of the Past's Heros
Cost: Manse •••
Aspect: Lunar
Description: This manse is made of dark blue and silvery stone and metal, and the outside walls are often shifting their position, denying access to the slow or unperceptive. Inside the manse is located a training area for martially inclined characters, but the main feature is the archive. This library is stocked with legends of the heroes of the Primordial War and First Age, and would aid anyone interested in recovering history of past deeds. The manse is very open to the outside environment; animals often make their way inside the manse in search of shelter. The manse itself is located in the southeastern parts of the Scavenger Lands.
Powers: Attunement Recognition (0 points), Basic Senses (0), Cosmetic Displays (0), Comfort Zone (1), Magical Conveniences(2), Well-Flavored Aspect(1), Archive(2)
Conveniences: Sliding panels and mirrors reveal or reflect the moon's light; Doors open when approached; Advanced combat training room; Adaptive combat dummies; self-updating Moonsilver plaque directory to the archive; Archive can automatically duplicate written contents when supplied with paper and ink.

Heart's Blood
Drake can assume the following animal forms: Horse, Bloodhound, Python, Auroch, Strix, White Tiger, Tyrant Lizard, and Alligator.

Allies
Winter's Favor - This God-Blooded woman claims to be a daughter of Talespinner, but unlike the other thousand people that claim lineage she has minor essence powers to back her claim up. A master painter and calligrapher whose works have been said to "come alive", she lived in Thorns until it was overrun by the Mask of Winters. Luckily for her, she had been called away to paint the portrait of a wealthy Guild trader during the invasion. She officially lives in a large town south of Great Forks, supposedly to "retreat and learn to better portray nature". In reality, she is actually working alongside the Blades to free Thorns, or at least keep the Deathlords from destroying any other city. She is Drake's "liaison" within the Blades, making sure that the roving Full Moon gets messages from the organization and generally acting as a kind of secretary. She serves this function for several other members of the Blades in the area, as well as working on a collaborative rebuttal to the Mask of Winter's attempts to set himself up as "just another ruler". She is rather smitten with the physically robust man, especially from an artistic standpoint. Whether either side acknowledges this is another story. She's currently hiding out in Drake's manse.

Distant Thunder - The general/leader of the People of the Hills, a nomadic offshoot of the Marukani. The tribesman are skilled with horses and bows, and Thunder himself attracted the attention of the Unconquered Sun. Now a Dawn caste, he and his army have managed to make a place for themselves, partially settling in an area. Drake's manse lays on land that is frequented by the People, and the previous ruler of the area had been a Lunar warlord. Though he was first driven off by Thunder, his retaliatory assault was stopped by Drake, who invoked a duel of honor between the two Lunars. As a result of Drake's victory, the warlord has withdrawn his forces for a year and a day, and is prepared to face Drake again in another duel at the end of that time. In exchange for his help, the tribe looks after the manse to prevent anyone else from taking it over while Drake is away. ((Thunder is property of Janana, and used with his permission. Poke him for more information on the guy.))

Contacts
Arcturus Shen - As a young man, Shen joined the ranks of the Seventh Legion, and promptly deserted the moment he saw battle. He now works as a scavenger lord and informant for several covert operatives within Lookshy, in exchange for the whole "not being executed for treason" thing. Drake uses Shen as a means of predicting Lookshy troop movements, so he can stage ambushes to test their paragons of battle. Shen likes to sell any wonders Drake "finds" to various parties, as well as a potential source of "protection" from his other clients.

Ivory Cloud - This Soul of Gaia operates mostly out of Great Forks. As a member of the Guardians of the Threshold, she often requests assistance from Drake in hitting things that might threaten the River Province besides the Deathlords. An accomplished sorceress, she hopes that Drake can lead him to the Secret Thunders Lodge and its No Moon teacher. Because, y'know, all Lunars know each other, right...?

[edit] Combat stats

[edit] Weapons

Unarmed

• Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy +1, Damage +0B, Defense +2, Rate 3, Min Str •, Tags N
  
• Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy +0, Damage +3B, Defense -2, Rate 2, Min Str • Dex ••, Tags N
  
• Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy +0, Damage +0B, Defense NA, Rate 1, Min Str •, Tags C N P
  

Perfected Kata Bracers

• Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy +4, Damage +4B, Defense +4, Rate 3, Min Str •, Tags N
  
• Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy +4, Damage +4B, Defense +4, Rate 2, Min Str •, Tags N
  
• Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy +4, Damage +4B, Defense NA, Rate 1, Min Str •, Tags C N P
  

[edit] Human Form

Join Battle
Join Battle: 7

Soak
Natural: 5B / 2L / 0A
Armor: 15B / 15L (Hardness=10)
Total: 20B / 17L / 15A

DV
Dodge DV: 6
Dodge MDV: 8

Attacks
Unarmed

• Punch: Speed 5, Hit 13, Damage 5B, Parry 14, Rate 3, Tags N
  
• Kick: Speed 5, Hit 12, Damage 8B, Parry 10, Rate 2, Tags N
  
• Clinch: Speed 6, Hit 12, Damage 5B, Parry NA, Rate 1, Tags C, N, P
  

Perfected Kata Bracers

• Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 16, Damage 9B, Defense 16, Rate 3, Tags N
  
• Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 16, Damage 9B, Defense 16, Rate 2, Tags N
  
• Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 16, Damage 9B, Defense NA, Rate 1, Tags C N P
  

[edit] War Form

Join Battle
Join Battle: 7

Soak
Natural: 8B / 5L / 0A
Armor: 15B / 15L (Hardness=10)
Total: 23B / 20L / 15A

DV
Dodge DV: 7
Dodge MDV: 8

Attacks
Unarmed

• Punch: Speed 5, Hit 14, Damage 6L, Parry 15, Rate 3, Tags N
  
• Kick: Speed 5, Hit 13, Damage 9L, Parry 11, Rate 2, Tags N
  
• Clinch: Speed 6, Hit 13, Damage 6L, Parry NA, Rate 1, Tags C, N, P
  

Perfected Kata Bracers

• Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 17, Damage 10L, Defense 17, Rate 3, Tags N
  
• Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 17, Damage 10L, Defense 17, Rate 2, Tags N
  
• Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 17, Damage 10L, Defense NA, Rate 1, Tags C N P
  

[edit] Notes

Investiture of Divine Glory
+30 BP
-3 BP :: +1 Strength
-3 BP :: +1 Dexterity
-3 BP :: +1 Stamina
-3 BP :: +1 Valor
-5 BP :: Ox-Body Technique
-5 BP :: Golden Tiger Stance
-1 BP :: +2 Martial Arts specialty
-2 BP :: +1 Awareness
-1 BP :: +1 Survival
-4 BP :: Four-charm Combo

+17 dots of backgrounds
-1 :: Upgrade armor to Artifact 4
-1 :: Tattoo artifact
-3 :: PKB
-3 :: Manse
-2 :: Heart's Blood
-1 :: Backing (Guardians of the Threshold)
-1 :: Backing (Silver Pact)
-1 :: Contact (for information on Lookshy)
-1 :: +1 Resources
-1 :: +1 Contacts
-2 :: Allies

[edit] Experience Progression

Total XP:
Spent:
Unspent: